Book of the Week, fiction, new releases, reviews

Book of the Week: The Glittering Art of Falling Apart

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This was a tough choice.  A really tough choice.  I had two contenders for BotW this week and it was so hard to decide.  In the end I went for Ilana Fox’s The Glittering Art of Falling Apart – as comes out on February 11th.  I’m not telling you what my other option was, because it’s part of a series and can’t help but feel that a blog post may come on it further down the line…

The Glittering Art of Falling Apart is a timeslip novel set in the 1980s and the present day.  And there’s a country house involved. And as regular readers will know, this is just the sort of thing that I love.  The present day heroine is Cassie – obsessed with trying to keep the abandoned Beaufont Hall in the family, despite her mother’s reluctance to talk about her childhood there.  Tenancious Cassie wants to know more.  Back in the 1980s, Eliza is breaking free from her family for the bright lights and glamour of Soho.  But will it bring her the future that she craves or is the price to heavy?

If you’ve read a few timeslip type novels you will probably have a few ideas about where this story is going (I certainly did), but this is so well put together, that it doesn’t matter.  Often in books like this a location is a character in the book – I was expecting Beaufont Hall to take that role, but actually it’s Soho that is the start location in The Glittering Art of Falling Apart.  Ilana Fox paints such a vivid picture of this patch of London in the 1980s you can almost smell it.  And there’s also a really clever use of music to help create the atmosphere as Eliza tries to make her mark on Soho.  I had OMD’s Enola Gay stuck in my head for two days but the lovely people at Orion have pointed me at the playlist that Fox has put together for the book which has given me some ideas for a bit more variety!

I haven’t read any of Ilana Fox’s novels before, but from reading the descriptions of them it seems like this may be a bit of a shift.  If you like books like Harriet Evans A Place for Us or Rosanna Ley’s The Saffron Trail, this may be the book for you.  My copy came from NetGalley*, but I think this should be fairly widely available when it comes out – it feels like it might be the sort of book that goes into the supermarkets (and I hope it does) – but here are some links if you want to pre-order (or buy if you’re reading on Thursday or later) Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones, Kindle and Kobo.

One final note – at time of writing this, I spotted previous BotW The Astronaut Wives Club on a deal on Kobo for 99p – which is a total bargain – and Kindle seem to be price matching it. Go forth and purchase!

*And this seems like a good point to remind everyone of my standard disclaimer –  I review everything I read over on Goodreads but I only recommend stuff here that I genuinely like. The books I read are a mixture of books that I’ve purchased myself, books that I’ve been given and e-proofs via NetGalley.  I try to acknowledge where the books that I review here come from in the interests of transparency, but being given a book for free doesn’t influence the review that I give it – I’m always honest about my thoughts.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: February 1 – February 7

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A much more “normal” (for me) week.  Lots of good stuff here – new stuff from authors I like, a new author or two and a wide range of stuff – historical fiction, contemporary women’s, detective, childrens, started some fantasy etc.

Read:

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaranovich

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

All Aboard (Canal Boat Cafe Part 1) by Cressida McLaughlin

The Glittering Art of Falling Apart by Ilana Fox

The Case of the Blue Violet (A Wells and Wong short) by Robin Stevens

Secrets of a Lady by Tracy Grant

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander

Started:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Villa America by Liza Klaussman

Still reading:

The Edge of the Fall by Kate Williams

Sisters on Bread Street by Frances Brody

Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

I don’t think I ought to talk about the acquisitions this week – a couple of orders with book dealers have come through and I got more than I was hoping for/expecting.  Mostly children’s books, and some are books I read as a child and wanted a copy of, so they kind of don’t count, right?  It did make me restrain myself from a few other purchases though.  Long may the will power continue.  Not that this week is a demonstration of will power at all really!

books, reviews, stats, The pile

Reading Patterns

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At the start of January (in December stats in fact) I promised you a more in depth look at my reading and rating patterns.  And then I forgot about it until I was doing January stats.  So I’m rectifying that now!

I noticed when I was putting together the December stats that the number of 5 star ratings I give out has been creeping up at a rate that’s disproportionate to the increase in books that I’ve read.  And it led me to wonder why.  Am I getting less fussy/discerning? Am I just picking amazing books to read?

The answer is a bit of both I think, but mostly the latter.  I think I have, on occasion, reached for the 5 star rating too often.  But I have also discovered new authors that I love and then whistled my way through their back catalogues at a rate of knots, instead of at a rate of a book a year (or however often they bring out a new book).  I’ve also got a lot better at decoding back covers and reviews and working out what I’m going to enjoy and skipping over the stuff that I won’t. Then there’s my large to-read pile, loaded with books that I’ve heard good things about, from sources that I trust.  And the pile also means that I can ignore stuff I’m not sure about (for ages) and go straight to the good stuff!

So what am I going to do about it?  I’m going to try and have an extra cogitate before I rate books in Goodreads and try not to reach for 5 too often.  But beyond that, all I can do is rate honestly and continue to work my way down the pile.  And I’d always rather read a book I love than one I detest (who doesn’t) so all I can do is be honest and explain my choices.

I’ll be keeping the situation under review…

Book of the Week, Fantasy, graphic novels, Thriller

Book of the Week: Body Work 1

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Tricky choice this week.  I read Eloisa James’ My American Duchess and I have things to say about it – but I read it for Novelicious, so you’ll have to wait!  I also read the second Sam Jones book and that was, if anything, even more fun than the first (Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane references!) but it’s only been two weeks since I made The Black Rubber Dress BotW and I don’t like to repeat myself too often*.  So I’m going left field and picking a comic – Part 1 of Body Work, the Rivers of London graphic Novel.

I’ve mentioned Ben Aaronvitch here before (Rivers of London was a BotW and a Christmas Pick for Him) and i actually broke one of my rules reading this – this is actually set between book 4 and book 5 in the series and I was only reading book 3 when I read this (although book 4 may be following shortly).  But having missed out on a physical copy of this in its first printing back earlier this year, I treated myself to this at the weekend to see what I thought of it ahead of the release of the trade in April.

I’m not a big reader of graphic novels, so something based on a familiar set of characters is attractive to me.  Of course in these cases there’s always the risk that the illustrations won’t match the pictures that you have in your head of the characters.  But in this case, that wasn’t a problem for me.  This isn’t very long, but all the characters that I encountered in this were near enough to how I imagined them.  It’s pretty much all set up for what is going to come next, but it’s fun, witty and feels like it fits with the novel.

It left me wanting to know what happens next, but I need to read book four first so that I don’t ruin anything when I read the next part of this.  If you want to try a graphic novel, the Kindle version (read on a tablet) is under £2 at time of writing, or if you trust me you can get your preorder in for the Trade version in Paperback or Kindle.  But as it’s so far ahead until it comes out, please do consider buying it from your local comic book store and supporting an indy.  If you don’t know where that is, here’s a handy resource to help you.  My local shop is friendly and helpful – and will get copies of stuff in for me *justlikethat* without deposit or anything.  If you want more recommendations they’ll be able to help too.

* Although do read Sam Jones.  It’s so worth it.

books, stats

January Stats

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New books read this month: 27*

Books from the to-read pile: 9

Ebooks read: 12

Books from the Library book pile: 2

Non-fiction books: 1

Most read author: Lauren Henderson (two Sam Jones novels)

Books read this year: 27

Books bought: 7 – and a subscription to Fahrenheit Press’s releases for the year!

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf: 436

Another year, another tweak to the monthly stats post!  This time I’ve integrated my non-fiction count into the list alongside the library books – they were New Year’s Resolutions last year, but I’m going to try and keep them going in 2016 as I think they add to the variety of what I read.

So a nice mixed bag in January in terms of variety of reading and only four “real” books that jumped straight to the top of the to-read pile pretty much as soon as they arrived.

*Includes some short stories/novellas/comics (4 this month)

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: January 25 – January 31

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Another strange week for me.  I’m not entirely sure why, but long days and commuter trains may again have something to do with my inability to settle down to a book as well as usual.  In the traditional one post two days late or two posts a day late each, the latter option has won – and January Stats will be tomorrow with Book of the Week on Wednesday.

Read:

My American Duchess by Eloisa James

Freeze my Margarita by Lauren Henderson

Bettany’s on the Home Front by Helen Barber

The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern

Rivers of London: Body Work 1 by Ben Aaronovich, Andrew Cartmel and Lee Sullivan

Mystery of the Skeleton Key by Bernard Capes

Started:

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaranovich

Still reading:

The Edge of the Fall by Kate Williams

Sisters on Bread Street by Frances Brody

Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

One e-book comic bought – and a pre-ordered novella arrived.  I’m still clutching my book tokens and trying to resist the urge to spend!

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Queen Lucia

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This week’s BotW is the first in the Mapp and Lucia series by E F Benson – which doesn’t actually feature Miss Mapp – just Lucia!  I’ve read Mapp and Lucia – which is the the fourth boo in the series and have come back to the start.  I have Miss Mapp waiting on the Kindle in the interests of fairness!

 

 In Queen Lucia, we meet the residents of Riseholme and their snobbish leader.  Emmeline Lucas – Lucia – always wants to have the upper hand, and employs all sorts of underhand methods to dominate the neighbourhood.  She and her husband drop snippets of Italian into conversation to make people think they’re fluent (they’re not), and she practices her piano duets in secret so she can “sight-read” them when Georgie comes over.  Georgie is her best friend (if she can be said to have one when life is a constant competition for superiority), balding and greying and desperate to hide it, he has his faults, but in this book at least is a slightly more sympathetic character than Lucia.

But for all that Lucia is awful, this is such a fun book.  The townspeople’s snobbery leads them into trouble at every turn.  If you watched the 2014 TV adaptation you’ll recognise some of the plots here.  Snigger as the Riseholmians embrace yoga. Chuckle as they compete to be best friends with the visiting opera singer. Cringe as Lucia’s (lack of) proficiency in Italian comes under scrutiny.  And then thank goodness that your group of friends are nothing like this.  And if your group of friends are like this, then maybe consider finding some new ones – constantly trying to one-up everyone else must be exhausting!

Queen Lucia is available for free on Kindle and although it’s not free on Kobo it is available in a variety of file formats for free from Project Gutenberg.  There’s also a variety of omnibuses (omnibii?) at differing price points (depending on if you want the cover that ties in with the TV series) and DVD releases of both the most recent and the 1980s TV series.  Enjoy!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: January 18 – January 24

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A fit of indecision and some standing only train journeys are to blame for the somewhat shorter than usual list. I’ve started a few good books though and adopted a short stories by the bed policy. I’ll keep you posted! 

Read:

London Rain by Nicola Upson

Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles

Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury

Queen Lucia by E F Benson

Started:

Sisters on Bread Street by Frances Brody

The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern

Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

My American Duchess by Eloisa James

Still reading:

Freeze my Margarita by Lauren Henderson

The Edge of the Fall by Kate Williams

I don’t think I bought any books this week – but I did get a book token as a belated gift, so a spree may be imminent!

Book of the Week, books, detective, reviews

Book of the Week: Black Rubber Dress

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This week’s BotW is Black Rubber Dress by Lauren Henderson.  These days she’s better known as Rebecca Chance, best-selling author of glamourous, sexy thrillers, but back in the 90s she wrote the Sam Jones series of mysteries about a sculptor in Camden.  They’re currently being republished by Fahrenheit Press (more on that later) and have come into my orbit.  Black Rubber Dress is the first of them to reappear.

Sam’s just made a big piece for a London bank.  But soon after the unveiling a body is found underneath it.  Determined to prove that it wasn’t her fault, she gets caught up in a web of intrigue, blackmail and Banking.  There’s stockbrokers, anorexic rich girls, trust funds, fraud and much, much more. Sam is smart, wise-cracking and no holds barred.  She knows what she wants, and she’s going to get it.  Her life is nothing like mine and if put in some of the situations she’s in I would curl up and cry, but reading the book I really wanted to be her.  I already have the second book underway.

It’s also quite fun to read and realise that a book written and set in the 90s is now a period piece – Sam has an answering machine not a mobile, there’s no talk of the internet and Camden is much seedier than than it is now.  It’s also a little traumatic – because I can remember life being like that too!

Start your Sam Jones obsession with Black Rubber Dress – it’s currently yoyoing between 99p and £1.99 on Kindle.  And when you get hooked, you might want to consider Fahrenheit Press’s Book Club – until the end of January for £36/$60/€50 you can get every book they publish this year.  I treated myself as a birthday present to myself (yes, another one) and the first to pop into my inbox was Freeze My Margarita – the next Sam Jones book…

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: January 11 – January 17

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So, it was my birthday last week and we went to Barcelona to celebrate for a few days.  Thus there was reading time on flights, in departure lounges, late at night etc.  So a fun week’s reading.

Read:

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

The Girl from the Opera House by Nancy Carson

Geek Drama by Holly Smale

Far in the Wilds by Deanna Raybourn

Black Rubber Dress by Lauren Henderson

The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells by Virginia MacGregor

Charlotte Bronte’s Secret Lover by Jolien Janzing

Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

Started:

Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles

Freeze my Margarita by Lauren Henderson

Still reading:

Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury

The Edge of the Fall by Kate Williams

Queen Lucia by E F Benson

I did have a bit of a spending spree on books though (twice) but it’s my birthday so I’m allowed – right?!